Posted on 04/26/2006 6:26:44 AM PDT by IrishMike
While the media continues to blame the big oil companies for gouging U.S. motorists as they collect record breaking profits, the windfall profits raked in by the government in the form of energy tax revenue actually dwarf the oil companies' jackpot.
The press sounded the alarm last year when the largest U.S. oil company, ExxonMobil Corp, announced profits of $36 billion. But according to the Tax Foundation, the biggest price gouging profiteer was the U.S. government, cashing in to the tune of $54 billion in oil and gas taxes.
"Tax collections on the production and import of gasoline by state and federal governments are already near historic highs," the think tank says. "In fact, in recent decades governments have collected far more revenue from gasoline taxes than the largest U.S. oil companies have collectively earned in domestic profits."
Since 1977, federal and state governments have collected more than $1.34 trillion in gasoline tax revenues in inflation adjusted dollars. That's "more than twice the amount of domestic profits earned by major U.S. oil companies during the same period," the Tax Foundation says.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
yeah - but it is for the "people"
The people or political pork ?
Yes We The People love anything that is free. We must at all cost encourage welfare. Why not just take over the companies and let the government have it all.
Our governments insatiable appetite for tax revenue and this mentality of handouts for all is sucking this country into a dark hole from whence we may never return.
ofcourse you'll never heard the MSM talk about this.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
I have argued this issue every sense gas prices started rising sharply. The numbers do not lie and, the government comes out the winner.
I like President Bush as President, and am thankful we have him at this present time in the history of our nation. I how ever think he has failed the American people along with the congress on the high price of gas.
The war in Iraq is costly and we must have the money to fund it and, the Fed tax on gas is a sure and fast way of getting it.
Just this week the president has started seeing the fury the American people are expressing. Now that the Government has ripped the American people out of billions of dollars on gas tax they are starting to act the act of being concerned.
The states and federal government could lax the taxes on gas for a short period of time to aid the working people in America.
Don't look for any help any time soon.
No kidding! I am so sick of hearing about the oil company's "windfalls"!! I ask, what about the government's windfall in taxes? Especially the state? In NY the state gets something like $0.45 on the dollar!! Makes the oil company's $0.09 look pretty measley huh?
Well, SOME of that tax money goes for road and tranpostation infrastructure support.
The fact is the taxes on gasoline should be EARMARKED for road and transportation projects. I don't believe they are. I think they all go into the bottomless maw of mommy-government to fund all sorts of idiotic programs.
Trent Lott pointed this oout yesterday when he endorsed that creep John McCain for President on the Sean Hannity Show (Barf!!!).
I wonder if ExxonMobil's profits were for world wide operations? If so, domestic profits would be a smaller amount than the $36 billion reported in the story, which would make the $54 billion taken by the government seem even more outrageous.
but that would mean that the very media that is spewing their nonsense would have to carry the ad, wonder if they would?
How come NO ONE is talking about the speculators in the commodity markets who are the ones setting the per barrel price of oil?
They are making more money than any other group in this whole mess.
In NY the state gets something like $0.45 on the dollar!! Makes the oil company's $0.09 look pretty measley huh?""
60 cents of every gallon is tax in Calif.
Someone should ask Arlen Specter what he plans to do to stop "tax gouging". ;)
The federal excise tax on sales of gasoline is deposited into the Highway Trust Fund. Eighty percent of the revenues are dedicated to road projects and the balance to mass transit projects. That seems like a classic user fee to me, not dissimilar to paying a toll charge to use a bridge or turnpike. The current gas price increases seem to have generated a lot of political heat, but (so far at least) very little light.
Time to investigate Big Government to see what they do with the TRILLIONS of tax dollars that are taken by force, if necessary from the taxpayers of the USA. At least Big Oil doesn't come after you with guns drawn to sell your house or business if you don't come up with as much cash as they want. Going to the gas pump is voluntary, in contrast with the double-speak "voluntary income tax" which isn't.
The oil companies need to run a full page ad that breaks down the price of a gallon of gasoline, including a detail of the per gallon tax in EVERY state.
It starts at the speculators setting the price per barrel in the commodity market.
The ad also has to show this:
The population of the USA in 1978.
The number of registered cars in 1978.
The number of gallons of gas sold in 1978.
The population of the USA now--including their best guess for the illegal intruder crimmigrants.
The number of registered cars now.
The number of gallons sold now.
Why the 28 year difference???
because there hasn't been a new refinery build in the past 28 years in the USA. NIMBY's are stopping every kind of power, fuel, and other production. They have stopped 2 new power plants in N Nevada- out in the middle of nowhere, which would have fed the 3rd fastest growing county -Lyon- and surrounding areas in the nation. The Kennedy's have stopped the windmills all over the USA. The enviros have stopped oil drilling at every turn. The cost of soy diesel is more than 60 cents on the dollar, which is way higher than standard diesel. One bad crop year, and there will be no trucking anywhere. Then see what will happen. Go read Atlas Shrugged and see what happens to soy products and poor planning and tampering with something you know zip about.
I'll bet that there is more than a 10% increase in the figures I am asking for, and how do we keep up with that demand when no new production is happening??
Doesn't surprise me!! This is the information that needs to be talked about when people complain about the high costs. The greatest "windfalls" being recieved are by the high-tax states like CA and NY. It amazes me that in CA if it's .60 on the dollar plus the .18 for the Feds and .09 for the oil company's...that only leaves .13 on the dollar for the gas station! Why the hell would anyonw want to own a gas station in Cali? Eeks.
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